Two men killed in Arima, Laventille

The murder toll for 2014 has jumped to 224 with the killing of two young men in separate incidents in Laventille and Arima yesterday.

At July 7 last year, there were 190 murders.

The latest murder occurred around 1.10 p.m. with the death of 28-year-old Jodel Charles.

Police reported Charles, of Buller Trace, Laventille, was walking along Pashley Street, Laventille, when upon reaching the vicinity of Agard’s Supermarket, he was approached by a lone gunman who pulled out a firearm and opened fire on the 28-year-old, hitting him several times before escaping.

The police and emergency health services were notified and a party of officers, including Insp Singh and Insp Etienne and other officers from Besson Street Police Station, the Inter Agency Task Force and the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, with assistance from officers of the T&T Defence Force, responded.

The area was cordoned off and crime scene investigators reportedly recovered several spent shells at the scene.

Police sources told Express Charles was “known to them”, as he was before the courts recently for robbery-related offences. However, they said they had no motive for his death.

At the scene, Charles’s relatives said they were surprised to learn of his death. It was noted he was the second boy of five siblings, and that while he was unemployed, he had aspirations of owning his own construction company.

The other homicide took place around 5.40 a.m. yesterday, when 22-year-old Keston Redhead (aka Keston Asenio) was killed.

According to police reports, Redhead, of Malabar Road, Arima, was walking along Malabar Road when, upon reaching the vicinity of Koon Koon Street, he was approached by an armed assailant who had alighted from a nearby vehicle.

The assailant opened fire on the 22-year-old before escaping.

The police and emergency health services were notified and Redhead was rushed to Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.